I’ve often felt like Judaism exists in an unforgiving dichotomy: you’re too Jewish or not Jewish enough. When you’re stuck in the middle, you always feel like a “bad” Jew. Rationally, I know that is not the case, but there was a time when the many ways a person can be Jewish intimidated me.

On Sunday, November 14, the Hillel International Student Cabinet had the privilege of meeting with the Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Nachman Shai to discuss the needs of the Hillel student movement with him and to learn how we can help each other in building bridges between Israel and the Jewish student community in the diaspora

At UCSB, organizations like Hillel and Students Supporting Israel were critical in galvanizing support from the Jewish community. The support is increasingly necessary given the number of times BDS legislation has been brought to the Senate. The proposal of May 2021 was UCSB’s 7th attempt at passing discriminatory legislation directed at Jews, with the last effort occurring in 2019.